Jakarta, November 21, 2024 - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) through the Directorate General of Marine and Spatial Management (DG PKRL) together with WWF Indonesia Foundation conducted a training activity on Identification of Critical Habitat Criteria for ETP (Endangered, Threatened, and Protected) Species to strengthen the establishment and effectiveness of species-based conservation areas and also rescue Shark and Stingray species. This activity is one of the efforts to develop and effectively manage 20 priority species and the target of expanding marine protected areas, which is the target of the MPA vision 30x45 or the expansion of marine protected areas by 30 percent by 2045.

The preservation of endangered and protected marine species is inseparable from qualified habitat conditions. Since 2021, together with KKP, WWF-Indonesia has initiated MPA for Sharks (in-water conservation areas that focus on shark protection), and developed it into a species-based MPA to include habitat protection for other ETP marine species.

Prof. Colin Simpfendorfer from James Cook University, Australia, trainer and author of Guidance on Defining and Identifying Critical Habitats For Recovering Shark And Ray Species said "When it comes to sharks and rays, while spatial protection can provide conservation benefits for some species, some question how widely it can be used effectively. This is because many shark and ray species can move over considerable distances, taking them far beyond protected area boundaries. This adds considerable uncertainty to the overall chances of conservation success."

"An approach that can produce positive conservation outcomes for sharks and rays is the concept of Critical Habitats - areas that are critical to ensuring the survival of the target species. By identifying and focusing management on these Critical Habitats, conservation efforts are more likely to succeed," he continued.

Through this training, management authorities, as well as technical units at the location of marine protected areas received capacity building around species monitoring, identifying important areas that are critical habitats for endangered species, with the hope that in the future the guidelines in the national document can be immediately adopted for the monitoring and management process of the area..

Director of Conservation and Ecosystem of Aquatic Biota (KEBP) of DG PKRL, Firdaus Agung explained that KKP has managed 5.7 million hectares for shark and ray habitat, and 5.5 million hectares for sea turtle habitat. What needs to be ensured is of course the effectiveness of its management so that it provides benefits both ecologically and socio-economically.

"KKP is committed to expanding marine protected areas by 30 percent by 2045, therefore, training on the identification of critical habitat criteria is important to provide clearer criteria for the establishment and effectiveness of conservation area management that makes protected and endangered species as conservation targets," Firdaus explained.

"WWF-Indonesia supports the Government of Indonesia's work to protect Indonesia's nature, one of which is cooperation to support MPA targets. Currently, WWF-Indonesia has successfully supported the establishment of marine protected areas, with an area of 5.4 million hectares or 18.3% of the total target area of marine protected areas in Indonesia which is 28.9 million hectares. This conservation area is also a habitat for sharks, rays, sea turtles, dugongs, and marine mammals that are automatically protected," said Imam Musthofa Zainudin, Director of Marine and Fisheries Program of WWF Indonesia Foundation.

WWF-Indonesia works on science such as developing and initiating global and regional shark and ray recovery initiatives known as SARRI (Shark and Ray Recovery Initiative) as a targeted response to the shark/ray extinction crisis and this is the solution to save them. In addition, together with consortium partners RARE, Coral Triangle Center, Yayasan Pesisir Lestari, REKAM Nusantara, and Konservasi Indonesia, as well as BRIN, WWF-Indonesia also supports the government's efforts in providing MPA for species-based documents which also make it a reference that can be relevant as an effort to expand species-based conservation areas, for example ISRA (Important of Shark and Ray Area) and IMMA (Important Marine Mammals Area). It is hoped that through WWF-Indonesia's support, KKP can quickly achieve its target of MP vision 30x45 and make this marine protected area a healthy habitat for sharks and rays in the future.

Documentation: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10uKVNcoM_BbakGFolbKX8gGBqy5bh-WB?usp=sharing

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For further information, contact:

Karina Lestiarsi 0852-1816-1683, Communication Officer| klestiarsi@wwf.id